Safeguarding. Chapel Road School

Transcription

1 Specialist School for Communication and Interaction Safeguarding At Chapel Road School Designated Safeguarding Officers (DSO) Karin Heap Julie Montagner Wendy Callow Headteacher Assistant Head outreach and Inclusion Governors and Senior Teaching Assistant

2 CONTENTS 1. Purpose 2. Introduction 3. Our ethos 4. Procedures 5. Training 6. Child Protection Conferences 7. Safe staff 8. Records and monitoring 9. Roles and responsibilities 10. Other relevant policies and curriculum 11. Policy consultation and review 1. PURPOSE 1.1 The purpose of Chapel Road School s safeguarding policy is to ensure every child who is a registered pupil at our school is safe and protected from harm. This means we will always work to; Protect our pupils from maltreatment Prevent impairment of our pupils health or development Ensure that our pupils grow up in circumstances consistent with the provision of safe and effective care Undertake that role so as to enable our pupils to have optimum life chances and enter adulthood as successful as possible 1.2 This policy will give clear direction to staff, volunteers, visitors and parents about the expected behaviour and our legal responsibility to safeguard and promote the welfare of all children at our school. 2. INTRODUCTION 2.1 Our school fully recognises the contribution it can make to protect children from harm and supporting and promoting the welfare of all children who are registered pupils at our school. The elements of our policy are prevention, protection and support. 2.2 Our policy applies to all Pupils, Staff, Parents, Governors, volunteers and visitors. 3 OUR ETHOS 3.1 Our school will establish and maintain an ethos where our pupils feel secure, are encouraged to talk, are listened to and are safe. Children at our school will be able to talk freely to any member of staff or regular visitor to our school if they are worried or concerned about something. 2

3 3.2 All staff and regular visitors will, either through training or induction, know how to recognise a disclosure from a child and will know how to manage this. We will not make promises to any child and we will not keep secrets. Every child, as far as possible, will know and understand what their chosen adult will have to do with whatever they have been told. 3.3 Throughout our curriculum we will provide activities and opportunities that will equip our children with the skills they need to stay safe. This will also be extended to include material that will encourage our children to develop essential life skills. 3.4 At all times we will work in partnership and endeavour to establish effective working relationships with parents, carers and colleagues from other agencies. 4. PROCEDURES 4.1 When new staff, volunteers or regular visitors join our school they will be informed of the safeguarding arrangements in place. They will be given a copy of our school s safeguarding policy and told who our Senior Designated Professional for Safeguarding is. They will also be shown the recording format, given information on how to complete it and who to pass it to. 4.2 Every new member of staff or volunteer will have an induction period that will include essential safeguarding information. This programme will include basic safeguarding information relating to signs and symptoms of abuse, how to manage a disclosure from a child, how to record and issues of confidentiality. The induction will also remind staff and volunteers of their responsibility to safeguard all children at our school and the remit of the role of the Senior Designated Professionals 4.3 New staff who have not had any child protection/safeguarding training or staff who have had training more than three years ago will be a brief introduction to safeguarding and will then be trained with the rest of the staff team at least every three years. 4.4 All regular visitors and volunteers to our school will be told where our policy is kept, they will be given a set of safeguarding procedures, they will be told who our Senior Designated and alternate staff members are and what the recording and reporting system is. 4.5 When new pupils join our school, all parents and carers will be informed that we have a comprehensive safeguarding policy. This will be offered to parents should they request a copy. Parents and carers will be informed of our legal duty to assist our colleagues in other agencies with child protection enquiries and what happens should we have cause to make a referral to Children s Services. 5 TRAINING 5.1 Every member of staff will undertake appropriate safeguarding training every three years. The senior designated professional, the alternate designated member of staff and any other senior member of staff who may be in a position of making referrals or attending child protection conferences or core groups will attend Norfolk Safeguarding Children s Board multi agency training working together to safeguard children. This training will be updated every three years. In addition to this the senior designated professional will also attend Safeguarding Children in Education, every two years. 5.2 Our governing body will also undertake appropriate training to ensure they are able to carry out their duty to safeguard all of the children at our school. Training for Governors to support them in their safeguarding role is available from Norfolk Governor Support Service. Governors are updated on policy and practice regarding Safeguarding in school at every governors meeting. And governors receive annual training updates by the designated officers. 3

4 5.3 We actively encourage all of our staff to keep up to date with the most recent local and national safeguarding advice and guidance. This can be accessed on Staff can find the most up to date national safeguarding information on The Head teacher and the Senior Designated Person should be used as a first point of contact for concerns and queries regarding any safeguarding concern in our school. 6 CHILD PROTECTION CONFERENCES 6.1 From time to time staff members may be asked to attend a child protection conference on behalf of the school in respect of individual children. Usually the person attending from school will be the Headteacher or Senior Designated Person. In any case, the person attending will need to have as much relevant up to date information about the child as possible. This is more likely to be available from a class teacher, form tutor or subject teacher. Our school s safeguarding team works together very closely to ensure relevant information is shared, the designated officer attending conferences/ core group meetings, is well briefed and records are kept updated and safe. 6.2 A child protection conference will be convened if a referral has been made and following an investigation the findings have considered the child to be at risk of harm, or if the child is already subject to a child protection plan a review conference is held to monitor the safety of the child and the required reduction in risk. 5.3 Staff may be required to attend child protection conferences or core group meetings to represent the school. For the most up to date information regarding child protection conferences staff will have access to Working Together to Safeguard Children 2006 and will be able to attend the Norfolk Safeguarding Children s Board Child Protection Conference and Assessment course. 6.4 All reports for child protection conference will be prepared in advance using the LSCB 1 form. The information contained in the report will be shared with parents either at the conference or before and will include information relating to the child s physical, emotional and intellectual development and how the child presents at school. A risk assessment relating to the continuing risk of harm to the child will also be included. 6.5 Clearly child protection conferences can be upsetting for parents. We recognise that we are likely to have more contact with parents than other professionals involved. We will work in an open and honest way with any parent whose child has been referred to Children s Services or whose child is subject to a child protection plan. Our responsibility is to promote the protection and welfare of all children and our aim is to achieve this in partnership with our parents. 7 SAFE STAFF 7.1 All adults who come into contact with our children have a duty of care to safeguard and promote their welfare. There is a legal duty placed upon us to ensure that all adults who work with or on behalf of our children are competent, confident and safe to do so. 7.2 Our aim is to provide a safe and supportive environment which secures the well being and very best outcomes for our children. We do recognise that sometimes the behaviour of adults may lead to an allegation of abuse being made. 7.3 Allegations sometimes arise from a differing understanding of the same event, but when they occur they are distressing and difficult for all concerned. We also recognise that that many allegations are genuine and there are some adults who deliberately seek to harm or abuse children. 4

5 7.4 We will take all possible steps to safeguard our children and to ensure that the adults in our school are safe to work with our children. We will always ensure that the Norfolk Safeguarding Children s Board protocol Allegations Against Staff, Carers and Volunteers is adhered to. 7.5 All adults who come into contact with children will be made aware of the steps that will be taken if an allegation is made. We will seek appropriate advice from the Local Authority Designated Officer (LADO). The LADO can be contacted on OR Neither the Headteacher nor any other member of school staff will investigate these matters. We will seek and work with the advice that is provided. Should an allegation be made against the Headteacher, this will be reported to the Chair of our governing body who will liaise the LADO and school HR. 7.7 All staff will have access to and be expected to know our school s policy for positive handling. (Norfolk Steps) There will be occasion when some form of physical contact is inevitable, for example if a child has an accident or is hurt or is in a situation of danger to themselves or others around them. However, at all times the agreed policy for safe restraint must be adhered to. All permanent staff are trained in Norfolk Steps, positive handling strategies. A list of staff able to practice Norfolk Steps is kept by the Headteacher. 7.8 New staff, visitors, volunteers/external students or parent helpers are not likely to work with children alone because all classrooms are staffed with up to four members of staff. They will, always be visible to other members of staff. Most of our doors have a clear glass panel in them and connecting doors are left open. 7.9 There are sensible steps that every adult should take in their daily professional conduct with children. This can be found in Safer Working Practices for Adults who work with Children this guidance is on the NSCB website. 8 RECORDS AND MONITORING 8.1 If we are concerned about the welfare or safety of any child all adults in school will record their concern on the agreed report form and give this to the senior designated person. 8.2Any information recorded will be kept in a separate named file, in a secure cabinet in the Headteacher s office and not with the child s academic file. These files will be the responsibility of the Senior Designated Person and information will only be shared within school on a need to know basis for the protection of the child. 8.3 Any safeguarding information will be kept in the file and will be added to. Copies of referrals, invitations to child protection conferences, core groups and reports will be stored here. All our safeguarding files will have a chronology and contents front cover and will record significant events in the child s life. 8.4 Reports of a concern to the Senior Designated Person must be made in writing and signed and dated by the person with the concern. 8.5 If a child leaves our school we will ensure that our Senior Designated Person makes contact with the senior designated person at the following school and the file will be forwarded. 9 ROLES AND RESPONSIBILITIES 9.1 At Chapel Road School the Headteacher is responsible for identifying a senior member of staff to be the Senior Designated Person. Our school has three designated staff, the Headteacher, the Assistant Head for Outreach and Inclusion and a Senior Teaching Assistant and Governor. Through appropriate 5

6 training, knowledge and experience our Senior Designated Team will liaise with Children s Services and other agencies where necessary, and make referrals to Children s Services. Our Safeguarding Team works closely with pupils, staff and parents. Together they monitor the work of the school to ensure all pupils, families and staff are well looked after and safe. 9.2 Any concern for a child s safety or welfare will be recorded in writing and given to the Senior Designated Team. One of our three Senior Designated Persons at Chapel Road School will represent our school at child protection conferences and core group meetings and the team is responsible for ensuring that all staff members and volunteers are aware of our policy and the procedure they need to follow. 9.2 The Senior Designated Team will ensure that all staff, volunteers and regular visitors have received appropriate child protection information during induction and have been trained within the school to the agreed school s safeguarding training pack. Where appropriate the Senior Designated Team will also ensure multi agency training is applied for and attended by staff that are required to attend. 9.3 The governing body of Chapel Road School will ensure that our safeguarding policies are in place and are reviewed annually. These policies are referred to in our school prospectus. The content of our policy has been written following consultation with the Staff, Local Authority and the requirements of the Norfolk Safeguarding Children s Board Policies and Procedures. 9.4 The governing body will receive a safeguarding report that will record training that has taken place, the number of staff attending and any outstanding training requirements for the school. It will also record all safeguarding activity that has taken place, for example, meetings attended, reports written, training or induction given. It will not identify any individual pupil. 9.5 At all times the Headteacher and governing body will ensure that safe recruitment practices are followed. We will ensure that our Headteacher and at least one governor have completed appropriate safer recruitment training and are accredited by the National College of School Leadership. Currently there are two governors, the Headteacher and Deputy as well as our office manager trained in safer recruitment. 9.6 At Chapel Road School we require evidence of original academic certificates. We do not accept testimonials and insist on taking up references prior to interview. We also follow up at least one of the references with a phone call to the referee. We will question the contents of application forms if we are unclear about them, we will undertake enhanced Criminal Records Bureau checks and use any other means of ensuring we are recruiting and selecting the most suitable people to work with our children. We will use the recruitment and selection process to deter and reject unsuitable candidates and will adhere to the requirements of Safeguarding Children in Education and Safer Recruitment It is the responsibility of every member of staff, volunteer and regular visitor to our school to ensure that they carry out the requirements of this procedure and at all times work in a way that will safeguard and promote the welfare of all of our children. 9.8 The Governing Body of our school is accountable for ensuring the effectiveness of this policy and our compliance with it. Although our Governing Body takes collective responsibility to safeguard and promote the welfare of our children we also have a named governor. 9.9 Our Governing Body ensures our recruitment practices are safe and compliant with statutory requirements The Governing Body undertakes to remedy without delay any weakness in regard to our safeguarding arrangements that are brought to their attention. 6

7 10 OTHER RELEVANT POLICIES 10.1 to underpin the values and ethos of our school and our intent to ensure our pupils are appropriately safeguarded the following policies are also included under our safeguarding umbrella; Safeguarding Protocol, Duty of Care, Recruitment, Whistle Blowing and Complaints procedures (approved Autumn 2009 to be reviewed 2010) Our policy on Managing Challenging Behaviour, which includes Bullying, Harassment and Discrimination including Racial abuse, Positive Handling (Norfolk Steps), Manual Handling, Child Protection Protocol and Staff Duty of Care (approved Autumn 2009 to be reviewed 2010) Attendance (approved Spring 2010 to be Spring 2011) E safety (approved Spring 2010 to be Spring 2011) Health and Safety including security, pool operation and staff health & safety roles and responsibilities (approved Summer 2010 to be Spring 2011.) Our Equalities scheme which includes Racial, Disability, Gender and Community Cohesion policies and plans (approved Autumn 2009 to be Autumn 2010.) Meeting the needs of pupils with medical conditions and Intimate Care and First aid (approved Spring 2010 to be Spring 2011.) Educational visits including overnight stays (EVC) and other routine Risk Assessments IT IS VITAL THAT YOU ENSURE ALL POLICIES LISTED HAVE BEEN SIGNED OFF BY THE GOVERNING BODY 10.2 to underpin our school ethos and to ensure all pupils understand and learn relevant life skills to help them remain safe and healthy; this policy is closely linked to our school curriculum in particular; PSHE RE and collective worship Citizenship, including careers education and transition Cross curricular links to all other subjects Life Skills including TITAN and Food Technology accreditation Extended and enhanced learning through lunch clubs and extended school activities 11 POLICY CONSULTATION 11.1 This policy is referred to in our school prospectus and is available on request from the school office. We also inform new parents and carers to the school about this policy when they join our school and through our school newsletter We will review all of the Safeguarding Documentation (see below) and will make amendments as required by national or local changes to procedure This policy is part of the schools Safeguarding Policy Documentation which includes: Safeguarding Protocol Safeguarding Policy Duty of Care Intimate and Medical Care Staff Protocol Whistle Blowing Policy Recruitment Policy Attendance Policy Complaints Procedure 11.4 Policy review This policy will be reviewed in annually at the first Governors meeting of the Autumn Term. 7

8 Documents used to support this policy Working Together to Safeguard Children 2006 Safeguarding in Education and Safer Recruitment 2007 OFSTED document Safeguarding Children (briefing for section 5 Inspectors) Allegations Against Staff, Carers and Volunteers Safer Working Practices for Adults who work with Children Policy to be reviewed: Autumn 2011 Signed: Date: 8